WINTER BLOCKBUSTERS AND UPCOMING FILMS

Mhlengi Khumalo 

@into.mbiyakwakhumalo

This year, cinema has truly captivated audiences, offering thrilling blockbusters and heart-warming tales that resonate deeply. 

As the year progresses, the film industry continues to captivate audiences with an array of movies. This year, the months of June and July have brought a mix of thrilling blockbusters like Bad Boys: Ride or Die, heart-warming tales like Lobola Man, and chilling horrors like A Quiet Place: Day One that have captured not only our hearts but have scared the living soul out of us too. 

June kicked off the South African winter movie season with a bang, offering audiences new films with fresh amounts of compelling storytelling. One of the standout releases was Inside Out 2, the sequel to 2015’s Inside Out. The story now follows a teenage Riley, who is entering puberty and experiencing brand new, more complex emotions as a result. As Riley tries to adapt to her teenage years, her old emotions come to terms with the possibility of being replaced. The film premiered on Friday, 14 June and has become one of the highest-grossing animated films worldwide, making 1.406 billion dollars in the Box office. The film scored a 7.8/10 on IMDb and a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, showcasing the mass popularity of the childhood prequel. You can still watch Inside Out 2 in theatres until Thursday, 1 August.

In July, the cinemas were buzzing with excitement as moviegoers flocked to see Longlegs, which premiered on Friday, 12 July. This film had a very unique promotion strategy which involved people having to guess what the film would be about. This strategy aimed to have the audience fully engrossed in the film. However, no one could have predicted what was about to grace the silver screen. Longlegs is about FBI Agent Lee Harker, who is assigned to an unsolved serial killer case that takes an unexpected turn involving the occult. Harker discovers a personal connection to the killer and must stop him before he strikes again. The film scored 7.2 /10 on IMDb, 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, and 77% on Metacritic. The majority of the reviews praised the performance of Nicholas Cage and said that he brought life to the character and brought terror into the audience.

As we look ahead to the remainder of the year, the anticipation builds for several highly awaited releases. One of the most eagerly anticipated films was Deadpool & Wolverine, which premiered on Thursday, 25 July. The film follows the Time Variance Authority (TVA), a bureaucratic organisation that exists outside of time and space and monitors the timeline. The TVA pulls Wade Wilson from his quiet life and sets him on a mission that will change the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe alongside Wolverine. The film has had a huge press tour promoting the movie and fans were quite excited to sit in front of the silver screen and watch the chaotic duo fight bad guys. Fans have fallen in love with the co-stars, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman’s sweet but chaotic bromance, which is considered a preview to the rest of the film series. The film has been scored so far by IGN with a 7.1/10, Rotten Tomatoes with 79% and Metacritic with 55%. 

Movie enthusiasts are particularly excited about the upcoming release of Gladiator II, which promises an epic historical drama. The film follows Lucius who, after his home was conquered by the tyrannical emperors who lead Rome, is forced to enter the Coliseum and look to his past to find the strength to return the glory of Rome to its people. The majority of the anticipation for the movie is the appearances of Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen, Joseph Quinn and Djimon Hounsou. Its prequel Gladiator is a much-loved movie, so there are high expectations for its successor. The film will premiere on Tuesday, 15 November. 

The latter half of the year looks promising with titles like Borderlands, Trap, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Speak No Evil, Joker: Folie à Deux, Venom: The Last Dance, Wicked, Moana 2 and Sonic The Hedgehog 3, and are expected to make waves in the industry. It seems the second half of the year looks hectic with star-studded casts in every direction and amazing cinematography evident from just the teasers and trailers. 2024 came back with a bang, releasing multiple movies with only a short gap between each new release and the audiences seem to love it. Nothing beats being entertained by good movies and amazing visuals. 

As we reflect on the diverse array of films released in June and July, such as Inside Out 2, Longlegs and Deadpool & Wolverine and look ahead to the eagerly anticipated releases, it’s evident that 2024 has been a remarkable year for cinema. Which upcoming film are you most excited to see?

Edited by Christabell Lourens